Teen Pregnancy

Adolescents at Risk and the Relationship between Early Teen Pregnancy and Parenting and Family Relationships

Abstract

The objective of this study is to investigate the adolescents at risk and the relationship between early teen Pregnancy and parenting and family relationships. Subjects will be participants enrolled in a parenting program that provided comprehensive multidisciplinary medical care to teen mothers and their children. Baseline data of a prospective cohort study will be collected by interview at 2 weeks postpartum and follow-up ? and standardized measures on entry into postnatal parenting groups. Demographic data included education ? family supports ? psychological history ? family history and adverse life events. Depressive symptoms will be measured with the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children short version (CES-DC). The Maternal Self-report Inventory (MSRI) measured perceived maternal self-esteem ? and Duke-UNC Functional Family Support Questionnaire measured family support. Data will be analyzed with bivariate analyses and linear regression modeling focusing on depressive symptoms as the outcome variable.

Table of Contents

Abstract2

Rationale4

Summary5

Population ? sampling procedures and instrument used for the study6

Rational For Using the Instrumentation7

Data Collection Method and Data Analysis Procedure8

References10

Adolescents at Risk and the Relationship between Early Teen Pregnancy and Parenting and Family Relationships

Rationale

Adolescent parenthood remains a challenging issue for American society despite significant decreases in adolescent pregnancy rates over the last decade. Approximately 400 ?000 females ? aged 15-19 ? (Moore 2001) continues to give birth each year. Effective parenting is considered key to enhancing child outcomes and breaking the multigenerational cycle of teen pregnancy. Maternal self-esteem is an important early parenting attribute related to maternal infant bonding and subsequent effective parenting. The development of high maternal self-esteem is dependent on a mother's abilities to interact with and care for her infant. (Shea 1988)

Adolescent parents ? compared to adult parents ? face many factors that potentially inhibit the development of positive maternal self esteem. They are developmentally immature and less able to think abstractly.They are more likely to live in poverty and to have histories of adverse life events such as physical or sexual abuse during childhood. They may have experienced ineffective parenting ? poor limit setting ? and high family dysfunction. Adolescent mothers also often report feelings of isolation ? loneliness ? (Martin 2005) and depression which may potentially impact maternal self-esteem. In developing interventions for adolescent parents ? it is important to understand the complex interactions between risk factors ? including depression ? family support ? and parenting attributes. (Stevenson 1999)

Summary

Although teen pregnancy rates have dropped in recent years ? in 2000 ? more than 800000 girls under 20 years of age became pregnant in the United States ? 478000 of those who gave birth. (Black 2002) Fifty-six percent of teen pregnancies result in live births ? and 1 in 4 teenage mothers have another child within 2 years. Overall ? more than three quarters of teen pregnancies are considered unplanned or unintended ? (Moore 2001) with more than a third of all teen pregnancies ending in abortion. In addition ? between 40% ...